The present invention relates to the field of flat panel display devices such as liquid crystal displays and plasma display devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to a flat panel display unit with a system for adjusting the viewing angle of the flat panel display device.
The majority of television sets and computer monitors currently incorporate a cathode ray tube. While the cathode ray tube can provide excellent definition and high picture quality, it has the drawback of being both heavy and bulky. The cathode ray tube is typically formed of a large glass tube that extends backward into a narrow neck at a substantial depth behind the relatively flat picture surface.
This configuration requires television sets and computer monitors using a cathode ray tube to be virtually as deep as they are wide. The housing of a television set or computer monitor must accommodate the shape and size of the cathode ray tube.
In some applications, the size of a cathode ray tube display renders the device completely impractical. For example, the display on a portable laptop computer cannot practically incorporate a cathode ray tube. For such applications, flat panel display devices have been developed. For example, most laptop computers incorporate a liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display had the benefit of being light-weight and flat.
The quality of the image on a liquid crystal display has historically been generally inferior to images produced on a cathode ray tube. However, advances in liquid crystal display technology have been closing this gap.
Another flat panel display device is the plasma display device. The plasma display device operates on entirely different principles than the liquid crystal display, but, like the liquid crystal display, can be made relatively flat while still providing adequate picture quality.
As flat panel display devices evolve and the picture quality available improves, flat panel display devices will most likely replace cathode ray tubes in virtually all applications. In particular, television sets, which now generally require a television stand or entertainment center on which to rest, can be replaced by a flat panel unit that hangs on the user""s wall without taking up space in the room.
The viewing angle of flat panel display devices, however, presents an obstacle to this trend. A common problem with flat panel display devices is that they provide only a limited range of angles from which the image displayed can be viewed with optimal quality. Generally, the display must be viewed at an angle within 30xc2x0 to 45xc2x0 from a direct line of sight, i.e., from a line perpendicular to and passing through the center of the flat panel display.
As a viewer moves beyond this limited range, the displayed image appears to degrade and loose quality. In laptop computers, the liquid crystal display device must typically be angled selectively by the viewer to provide optimal viewing of the displayed image. However, this solution to the problem is not readily available as flat panel display devices evolve into larger, wall-mounted units. For example, if the viewer adjusts a wall-mounted flat panel display to be optimally viewed from a particular location, for example the viewer""s sofa, a viewer cannot then sit on the floor, move to a nearby table, etc., and still view a high quality image on the flat panel display.
Consequently, there is a need in the art to overcome this inherent problem with the use of flat panel display devices. More specifically, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method with which a viewer can optimally adjust the viewing angle of a flat panel display unit.
It is an object of the present invention to meet the above-described needs and others. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method with which a viewer can optimally adjust the viewing angle of a flat panel display unit, particularly a flat panel display unit which has been mounted on a wall.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows or may be learned by those skilled in the art through reading these materials or practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be achieved through the means recited in the attached claims.
To achieve these stated and other objects, the present invention may be embodied and described as a flat panel display unit with an adjustable viewing angle. The flat panel display unit of the present invention may include a flat panel display device moveably mounted in a bezel, and at least one servo device for adjusting the angle of the flat panel display device with respect to the bezel.
The servo system may include two servo devices connected to different halves of the rear portion of the flat panel display device. Alternatively, the servo system may include four servo devices connected to different quadrants of the rear portion of the flat panel display device.
Preferably, the servo devices are controlled by a remote control device that wirelessly communicates with the flat panel display unit. The remote control unit includes a user input device with which a user can control the servo devices of the display unit and, therefore, the viewing angle of the display unit. Preferably, the user input device is a joystick for controlling the servo devices.
Preferably, each of the servo devices includes an extension member that selectively extends and retracts to adjust the angle of the flat panel display device with respect to the bezel. A driver is used to selectively extend and retract the extension member. A pivot joint is used to connect the extension member to the rear portion of the flat panel display device. The joint allows the flat panel display device to tilt with respect to the extension member.
The present invention also encompasses the method of implementing the flat panel display device described above. Particularly, the present invention encompasses a method of operating a flat panel display unit by selectively adjusting an angle of the flat panel display device with respect to the bezel in which the flat panel display device is moveably mounted using at least one servo device.